


Déjà vu

by wildtrak



Series: NTA Prompt Fills [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Canon Temporary Character Death, F/M, Ficlet, Memory Alteration, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:40:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24467374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildtrak/pseuds/wildtrak
Summary: Lesley has seen his fair share of unusual happenings and strange characters that don’t quite seem to fit in the mundane world of International Express. It’s nothing he can put a finger on, really. Just that sense that there is something his mind doesn’t want him to fully comprehend.For the GO Events Name the Author challenge prompt "This brings back memories."
Relationships: Lesley | International Express Man/Maud
Series: NTA Prompt Fills [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835815
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12
Collections: Name That Author Round Four





	Déjà vu

The life of a delivery driver isn’t generally one of adventure and excitement. 

Lesley has seen his fair share of unusual happenings and strange characters that don’t quite seem to fit in the mundane world of International Express. It’s nothing he can put a finger on, really. Just that sense that there is something his mind doesn’t want him to fully comprehend. Something his brain is glossing over to _get on with it_. 

Englishmen are very good at that, thinks, when the job takes him into parts unknown. Stiff upper lip, and a healthy dose of minding one's' own business are key to survival in the more unsavoury places he’s travelled.

It hits him at odd moments. He wants to call it _déjà vu_ , and yet it’s more than some nebulous feeling. The memories are there at the edge of his consciousness, creeping up on him while he’s driving on the dark stretches of road between towns. If he tries to focus on the memories, he feels tired all of a sudden and has to pull over before he drifts off the road into a tree. 

The sound of a truck horn blaring startles him every time, and sometimes his hands shake when he puts them back on the wheel. He doesn’t tell Maud about that. She worries.

He does tell Maud about seeing Elvis working the grill in a diner at the arse-end of nowhere. She smiles in that enigmatic way of hers—as though he’s a bit daft, but she still thinks he’s ravishingly handsome and is willing to overlook the warning signs. He doesn’t tell her about the sharp man in a sharper suit who smells of sulphur and has a savage gleam in his eye when he receives the harmless-looking package Lesley delivers. 

It’s Maud who suggests a visit to the riverbank, to celebrate their anniversary. He’s reluctant at first—and not sure why… He wonders if trying to recapture the magic is going to lead to disappointment. Minds have a way of changing things, Lesley has discovered, and such a perfect day couldn’t possibly be repeated. 

The feeling is back as he pulls the truck to a stop in the car park. In his mind’s eye there is a figure sitting at the low bench in the grass. They’re wearing a crown, and the plants at their feet are all blackened and dying. In the next blink, the figure is gone. 

Maud opens the door and smiles.

Despite the nagging voice in his mind and the twenty-five years of time in between, he still feels the rush of anticipation that sends him stumbling and laughing out of the truck and into the sunshine. Maud holds his hand, and together they stay mostly upright on the trek down to the water’s edge.

“This brings back memories.” Her voice is bright and carefree, and her eyes draw him in like a magnet. The world around him narrows, and her light is all he sees. 


End file.
